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German Beauty Retailer Douglas to Close Around 500 Stores, Cut 2,500 Jobs

Zoe Suen

28 January 2021

The Düsseldorf-based perfume and cosmetics retailer will shutter 20 percent of its bricks-and-mortar locations in Europe by autumn 2022, Cosmetics Business reported.

The majority of those closures will be in Southern Europe, alongside 60 of the company’s 430 German stores. Around 2,500 employees could see their jobs cut, subject to negotiations with unions, a spokesperson said.

The move is part of Douglas’ plan to invest in its e-commerce business, which it launched in 2018. E-commerce has borne fruit in the wake of Covid-19: last year, the company reported €1 billion in e-commerce sales.

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